The public programme focuses on Earth and Water as powerful symbols representing urgent global issues, including wartime experiences, ecological disasters, water and air pollution, migration, displacement, and disparities in food security and aims to explore the profound impact of these challenges on cultures worldwide and seek solutions for a sustainable future. 

• April 17, 2024 
• 11:00 – 12:00 CET 

Location: Ocean Space 

Chiesa di San Lorenzo Castello 506  

Sailing Through Storms: Art’s Response to Crisis 

Discussion with Lia Dostlieva (artist, cultural anthropologist, essayist), Andrii Dostliev (visual artist, curator, photography researcher, anthropological illustrator), Viktoria Bavykina, Max Gorbatskyi (curators of the Ukrainian pavilion), Vid Simoniti (philosopher, art historian and lecturer at the University of Liverpool) 

Moderator — Tetyana Filevska (Creative Director, Ukrainian Institute) 

Topic: Explore the role of art amidst various crises, focusing on Ukraine’s wartime experiences, ecological disasters, migration, and more. Delve into how artists respond creatively to tumultuous times, shaping narratives, fostering resilience, and provoking reflection on societal challenges. 

• 12:10-12:30 CET 

Location: Ocean Space 

Chiesa di San Lorenzo Castello 506 

Follow the plants 

Performance by Alevtina Kakhidze 

Driven by her great interest in the relationship between plants and humans, Ukrainian artist Alevtina Kakhidze invites audiences to the Follow the Plants performance. In an introductory lecture, she provides an insight into her research on stable plant systems such as steppes and prairies. In this context, she investigates the influence of ‘invasive’ and ‘tender’ plants on ecosystems and the role of humans therein from an artistic-philosophical perspective. Practical training during which the participants can explore the local ecosystems follows the lecture. 

• April 18, 2024 
• 16:45 CET 

Location: Arsenale, Sale d’Armi, building A, 1st floor 

Official opening of Ukrainian Pavilion at the 60th La Biennale di Venezia ‘Net Making’ 

Net Making is a group exhibition curated by Viktoria Bavykina and Max Gorbatskyi, which draws from the practice of collective weaving of camouflage nets as a metaphor for joint horizontal actions. The project commissioner is the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, represented by Taras Shevchenko, Deputy Minister for European Integration. The exhibition will feature works by Katya Buchatska, Andrii Dostliev and Lia Dostlieva, Daniil Revkovskyi and Andrii Rachynskyi, and Oleksandr Burlaka, as well as the communities with whom the artists have worked together. 

All events are accessible until the maximum capacity of the space is reached. No bookings are required. 

Join us this October for the second block of the public programme, going even deeper in two main themes: Earth and Water.  

Earth: Artistic Approaches to Decolonial Histories and Strategies 

Join us for an exploration of diverse global approaches to decoloniality. From indigenous perspectives to post-colonial narratives, we’ll delve into a range of strategies aimed at dismantling colonial legacies. Together, we’ll examine how various communities and movements around the world are navigating the complexities of decolonization and shaping alternative futures 

Water: Cultural Damage and Global Challenges 

A discussion on the cultural ramifications and global challenges associated with water. We’ll delve into pressing issues such as water and air pollution, migration, displacement, and the imbalance in food security.  

GAIA – 24. Opera del mondo, composers — Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko, performance by Opera Aperta 

Closing event of the public programme — contemporary geohistorical opera and music theatre piece, which turns a theatre building structure into a temple for Earth. Starting as a documentation process of the explosion of Kakhovka Dam on 6 June 2023 and following human and ecological catastrophe, GAIA-24 as an idea was reborn into an opera. It combines a transformative landscape, human body and theatre stage into an open-ended music-theatrical process-ritual. 

Duration: approx. 90 min 

The specific date is still to be confirmed, so stay tuned for more details. 

The public programme is organised by the Ukrainian institute in partnership with Ukrainian pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, TBA 21, Ocean Space and OPERA APERTA — laboratory for contemporary opera, and supported by Museums for Ukraine initiative, this project is implemented under the USAID/ENGAGE activity, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact. The contents of this public programme are the sole responsibility of Pact and its implementing partners and do not necessary reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.